Variable Displacement Compressor

ABSTRACT

In a variable displacement compressor  100 , transmitting member  116  transmits rotational motion of rotor  112  to swash plate  111  and supports swash plate  111 . Guide member  117  guides inclining motion of swash plate  111  such that a top dead center position of piston  126  is maintained to be substantially constant. Members  116, 117  are separately formed at different portions on a rotor end face  112   a . In the variable displacement compressor  100 , first contacted member  118  contacted with transmitting member  116 , and second contacted member  119  contacted with guide member  117 , are separately formed at different portions on swash plate end face  111   b . The transmitting member  116  and the first contacted member  118  extend on rotor  112  and swash plate  111 , respectively, from a top dead center side region V 1  to a bottom dead center side region V 2  of the piston.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a variable displacement compressor capable of varying a discharge displacement by changing the inclination angle of a swash plate that rotates integrally with a drive shaft, and more specifically, relates to a variable displacement compressor for use in a refrigerant circulation device, such as an air conditioning system for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND ART

For example, as such a variable displacement compressor, a variable displacement compressor disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. The variable displacement compressor disclosed in the Patent Document 1 includes: a housing in which a cylinder bore is formed; a drive shaft rotatably supported inside the housing; a rotor secured to the drive shaft; a swash plate facing the rotor and attached to the drive shaft in a manner capable of inclining with respect to the axis of the drive shaft; and a piston disposed in the cylinder bore and reciprocating due to rotational motion of the swash plate. Furthermore, this variable displacement compressor is configured to convert rotational motion of the swash plate rotating integrally with the drive shaft into reciprocating motion of the piston and is configured to be capable of varying the discharge displacement of refrigerant by changing the inclination angle of the swash plate. Specifically, by clamping a flat plate portion formed in the drive shaft by two plate portions formed in the swash plate, this variable displacement compressor transfers rotational motion of the rotor to the swash plate and supports the swash plate. In addition, a pin arranged to bridge between the two plate portions is made to slide on a guide face formed inclined in the flat plate portion at one end side in the width direction. This pin is configured to always contact the guide face even when the inclination angle of the swash plate changes. This makes the inclining motion of the swash plate guided such that the top dead center position of the piston is maintained to be substantially constant despite the inclination angle of the swash plate being changed. In this way, in the variable displacement compressor disclosed in the Patent Document 1, the flat plate portion formed in the drive shaft transfers the rotational motion of the rotor to the swash plate and supports the swash plate, and further guides the inclining motion of the swash plate.

REFERENCE DOCUMENT LIST Patent Document

-   Patent Document 1: JP H11-336657 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

However, in the variable displacement compressor disclosed in the Patent Document 1, even when it is attempted to increase the contact area between the flat plate portion and the two plate portions in order to stabilize the transmission of rotational motion to the swash plate and to stabilize support of the swash plate, it is difficult to increase the contact area because of limitations arising due to the pin and guide face. Further improvement is required.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a variable displacement compressor, and more specifically, a variable displacement compressor capable of stably transmitting rotational motion of a rotor and stably supporting a swash plate.

Means for Solving the Problem

According to an aspect of the present invention, the variable displacement compressor comprises: a housing in which a cylinder bore is formed; a drive shaft rotatably supported inside the housing; a rotor secured to the drive shaft; a swash plate facing the rotor and attached to the drive shaft in a manner capable of inclining with respect to the axis of the drive shaft; and a piston disposed in the cylinder bore and reciprocating due to rotational motion of the swash plate, in which an inclination angle of the swash plate is changed to change a stroke amount of the piston so that a discharge displacement of refrigerant discharged from the cylinder bore is made variable. In the variable displacement compressor, on a rotor end face of the rotor on a swash plate side, a transmitting member that transmits rotational motion of the rotor to the swash plate and supports the swash plate, and a guide member that guides inclining motion of the swash plate such that a top dead center position of the piston is maintained to be substantially constant, are separately formed at different portions. Furthermore, in the variable displacement compressor, on a swash plate end face of the swash plate on a rotor side, a first contacted member that is contacted with the transmitting member, and a second contacted member that is contacted with the guide member, are separately formed at different portions. In addition, the transmitting member extends on the rotor from a top dead center side region to a bottom dead center side region of the piston, and the first contacted member extends on the swash plate from the top dead center side region to the bottom dead center side region of the piston.

Effects of the Invention

According to the variable displacement compressor according to the aspect of the present invention, the transmitting member that transmits rotational motion of the rotor to the swash plate and supports the swash plate, and the guide member that guides inclining motion of the swash plate such that the top dead center position of the piston is maintained to be substantially constant, are separately formed at different portions on the rotor end face of the rotor on the swash plate side. In addition, the first contacted member that is contacted with the transmitting member, and the second contacted member that is contacted with the guide member, are separately formed at different portions on the swash plate end face of the swash plate on the rotor side. This allows the transmitting member to be formed to be larger than conventionally without being limited by the guide member. Thus, by forming the first contacted member that is contacted with the transmitting member to be larger to match the transmitting member, it is possible to easily increase a contact area of the transmitting member and the first contacted member, resulting in stable transmission of the rotational motion of the rotor to the swash plate and stable supporting of the swash plate. Furthermore, since the transmitting member extends on the rotor from the top dead center side region to the bottom dead center side region of the piston, and the first contacted member extends on the swash plate from the top dead center side region to the bottom dead center side region of the piston, the transmitting member and the first contacted member are positioned in both regions of the rotor or the swash plate, that is, the top dead center side region and the bottom dead center side region dividing the rotor and the swash plate into two, and thus, it is also possible to prevent occurrence of imbalance of the rotor and the swash plate as the rotating body.

Thus, it is possible to provide the variable displacement compressor capable of stably transmitting rotational motion of the rotor and stably supporting the swash plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a variable displacement compressor to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a coupled body of a drive shaft, a rotor and a swash plate of the variable displacement compressor, which is a view illustrating a state in which the swash plate inclines at a minimum inclination angle.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the coupled body illustrated in FIG. 2 seen from a direction of arrow A indicated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the coupled body illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the coupled body illustrated in FIG. 2 seen from another angle.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the coupled body, which is a view illustrating a state in which the swash plate inclines at a maximum inclination angle.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the coupled body seen from a direction of arrow B indicated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the coupled body illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the coupled body illustrated in FIG. 6 seen from another angle.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinbelow, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a swash plate type variable displacement compressor 100 to which the present invention is applied. This variable displacement compressor 100 is for use in a refrigerant circulation device (not illustrated) and is configured to take in, compress and discharge refrigerant of the refrigerant circulation device. In the present embodiment, the variable displacement compressor 100 is for use in a vehicle air conditioning system.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the variable displacement compressor 100 includes a cylinder block 101 in which at least two cylinder bores 101 a are formed, a front housing 102 disposed on one end of the cylinder block 101, and a cylinder head 104 disposed on the other end of the cylinder block 101 via a valve plate 103. In the present embodiment, the cylinder block 101, the front housing 102 and the cylinder head 104 correspond to a housing according to the present invention.

The cylinder block 101 and the front housing 102 forms a crank chamber S1. Inside this crank chamber S1, a drive shaft 110 is rotatably supported. Inside the crank chamber S1, a substantially disk-shaped swash plate 111 is disposed. At the central portion of this swash plate 111, a through hole 111 a is formed. The drive shaft 110 is inserted through this through hole 111 a. Furthermore, the swash plate 111 is arranged to face a substantially disk-shaped rotor 112 that is secured to the drive shaft 110 and rotates integrally with the drive shaft 110, and the swash plate 111 rotates together with the drive shaft 110 and the rotor 112. The swash plate 111 is attached to the drive shaft 110 in a manner capable of inclining with respect to the axis O of the drive shaft 110.

The through hole 111 a of the swash plate 111 is formed in such a shape that allows the swash plate 111 to incline within a range from the maximum inclination angle to the minimum inclination angle. In the present embodiment, in the through hole 111 a, there is formed a minimum inclination angle regulating portion 111 a 1 that restricts displacement of inclination angle (inclining motion) of the swash plate 111 in a direction reducing the inclination angle by coming into contact with the drive shaft 110. For example, when an inclination angle of the swash plate 111 perpendicular to the drive shaft 110 is taken as 0 degrees (minimum inclination angle), the minimum inclination angle regulating portion 111 a 1 is formed to allow the displacement of inclination angle (inclining motion) until the inclination angle of the swash plate 111 becomes substantially 0. In addition, for example, displacement of inclination angle (inclining motion) of the swash plate 111 in a direction increasing the inclination angle is regulated by the swash plate 111 (specifically, an end face 118 a 2 of a second plate member 118 a, described below) coming into contact with the rotor 112. Thus, in the present embodiment, the inclination angle of the swash plate 111 becomes its maximum inclination angle when the swash plate 111 comes into contact with the rotor 112. FIG. 1 illustrates a state in which the swash plate 111 inclines at the maximum inclination angle.

On the drive shaft 110, there are mounted an inclination angle decreasing spring 113 that biases the swash plate 111 in a direction decreasing the inclination angle and an inclination angle increasing spring 114 that biases the swash plate 111 in a direction increasing the inclination angle, with the swash plate 111 interposed therebetween. Specifically, the inclination angle decreasing spring 113 is mounted between the swash plate 111 and the rotor 112, and the inclination angle increasing spring 114 is mounted between the swash plate 111 and a spring supporting member 115 that is secured to or formed in the drive shaft 110.

Here, a biasing force of the inclination angle increasing spring 114 is set to be greater than a biasing force of the inclination angle decreasing spring 113 when the inclination angle of the swash plate 111 is the minimum inclination angle. Thus, when the drive shaft 110 is not rotating, that is, when the variable displacement compressor 100 is stopped, the swash plate 111 is positioned at an inclination angle (>minimum inclination angle) at which the biasing force of the inclination angle decreasing spring 113 and the biasing force of the inclination angle increasing spring 114 are balanced with each other.

One end of the drive shaft 110 extends through a boss 102 a of the front housing 102 and extends to the outside of the front housing 102, and is coupled to a power transmission device (not illustrated). Between the drive shaft 110 and the boss 102 a, a shaft sealing device 120 is inserted, and the inside of the crank chamber S1 is isolated from an external space.

The drive shaft 110 is supported by radial bearings 121, 122 in the radial direction, and is supported by a thrust plate 123 in the thrust direction. An end portion of the drive shaft 110 on the thrust plate 123 side and the thrust plate 123 are adjusted to have therebetween a predetermined clearance by an adjusting screw 124. Furthermore, transmission of a power from an external drive source (not illustrated) to the power transmitting device makes the drive shaft 110 rotate in synchronization with the power transmission device.

Furthermore, the rotor 112 is supported by a thrust bearing 125 in the thrust direction. A face of the rotor 112 on the opposite side to the face on the swash plate side is formed with a receiving face perpendicular to the axis O of the drive shaft 110, and the receiving face contacts the thrust bearing 125.

In the cylinder bore 101 a, a piston 126 is disposed. An inner space defined at an end portion of the piston 126, protruding toward the crank chamber S1, accommodates an outer periphery of the swash plate 111. The swash plate 111 moves together with the piston 126 via a pair of shoes 127. The shoes 127 convert rotational motion of the swash plate 111 into reciprocating motion of the piston 126 so that the piston 126 reciprocates inside the cylinder bore 101 a. In this manner, the piston 126 reciprocates due to the rotational motion of the swash plate 111.

In the cylinder head 104, a suction chamber S2 located at the central portion, and a discharge chamber S3 located to annularly surround the suction chamber S2, are formed. The suction chamber S2 communicates with each cylinder bore 101 a via a communication hole 103 a formed in the valve plate 103 and via a suction valve (not illustrated). The discharge chamber S3 communicates with the cylinder bore 101 a via a communication hole (not illustrated) formed in the valve plate 103 and via a discharge valve (not illustrated).

Here, the front housing 102, a center gasket (not illustrated), the cylinder block 101, a cylinder gasket (not illustrated), the valve plate 103, the head gasket (not illustrated), the cylinder head 104, and the like, are fastened with through bolts or the like (not illustrated) to form the housing.

Although not illustrated in the drawing, a suction passage that communicates a refrigerant circuit on the low pressure side of the vehicle air conditioning system and the suction chamber S2, and a discharge passage that communicates a refrigerant circuit on the high pressure side and the discharge chamber S3, are formed in the cylinder head 104. In addition, although not illustrated in the drawing, a control valve is disposed in the cylinder head 104. This control valve adjusts the opening degree of a pressure supplying passage (not illustrated) that communicates the discharge chamber S3 and the crank chamber S1, to control an amount of discharged gas to be introduced into the crank chamber S1. Furthermore, it is configured so that the refrigerant in the crank chamber S1 flows into the suction chamber S2 via a passage (not illustrated). Thus, by changing the pressure in the crank chamber S1 by the control valve to change the inclination angle of the swash plate 111, that is, to change the stroke amount of the piston 126, the discharge displacement of refrigerant from the cylinder bore 101 a can be variably controlled. Here, the piston 126 positions at the top dead center (height position at the upper limit) at which the piston 126 is closest to the valve plate 103 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 110 when the compression stroke ends, and the piston 126 positions at the bottom dead center (height position at the lower limit) at which the piston 126 is most departed from the valve plate 103 when the expansion stroke ends.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2-9, the transmission structure for transmitting rotational motion from the rotor 112 to the swash plate 111, the support structure of the swash plate 111, and the guide structure for guiding (restricting) the inclining motion of the swash plate 111, in the variable displacement compressor 100, will be described.

FIGS. 2-9 are views illustrating a coupled body 130 of the drive shaft 110, the rotor 112 and the swash plate 111. FIGS. 2-5 are views illustrating a state in which the swash plate 111 inclines at the minimum inclination angle, and FIGS. 6-9 are views illustrating a state in which the swash plate 111 inclines at the maximum inclination angle. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, FIG. 3 is a side view seen from a direction of arrow A indicated in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the coupled body 130 seen from obliquely below, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the coupled body 130 seen from another angle. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view, FIG. 7 is a side view seen from a direction of arrow B indicated in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the coupled body 130 seen from obliquely below, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the coupled body 130 seen from another angle.

In the variable displacement compressor 100, a transmitting member 116 that transmits the rotational motion of the rotor 112 to the swash plate 111 and supports the swash plate 111, and a guide member 117 that guides inclining motion of the swash plate 111 such that the top dead center position of the piston 126 is maintained to be substantially constant despite the inclination angle of the swash plate 111 being changed, are separately formed at different portions on a rotor end face 112 a of the rotor 112 on the swash plate 111 side. Thus, in the rotor 112, the transmitting member 116 configured to be a torque transmitting and swash plate supporting member, and served as a portion of the transmission structure of rotational motion and the support structure of the swash plate 111, and the guide member 117, served as a portion of the guide structure for guiding the inclining motion of the swash plate 111 such that the position (height position) of the piston 126 at the top dead center is maintained to be substantially constant, are separately formed as separate members.

Furthermore, in the variable displacement compressor 100, a first contacted member 118 that is contacted with the transmitting member 116, and a second contacted member 119 that is contacted with the guide member 117, are separately formed at different portions on the swash plate side end face 111 b of the swash plate 111 on the rotor side.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, the transmitting member 116 is a member that extends on the rotor 112 from a top dead center side region (region at the right side of the drawings) V1 to a bottom dead center side region (region at the left side of the drawings) V2 of the piston 126. Furthermore, corresponding to the transmitting member 116, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, the first contacted member 118 is a member that extends on the swash plate 111 from the top dead center side region (region at the middle right side of the drawings) V1 to the bottom dead center side region (region at the middle right side of the drawings) V2 of the piston 126. Thus, the transmitting member 116 and the first contacted member 118 are a member that extends on the rotor 112 or swash plate 111 from the top dead center side region V1 to the bottom dead center side region V2 of the piston 126.

Hereinbelow, the transmitting member 116, the guide member 117, the first contacted member 118 and the second contacted member 119 will be described in more detail.

In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7, the transmitting member 116 is constituted by a pair of first plate members 116 a, 116 a formed to be erect on the rotor end face 112 a and to face each other on both sides across the drive shaft 110. The first plate members 116 a, 116 a are formed to be erect in parallel to each other and are positioned in both the regions V1, V2 of the rotor end face 112 a, that is, the top dead center side region V1 and the bottom dead center side region V2 dividing the rotor end face 112 a into two (see FIGS. 2 and 6). Furthermore, as illustrated in FIGS. 2-5, the end face 116 a 1 of each first plate member 116 a on the swash plate side is obliquely formed such that the end face 116 a 1 is located closer to the rotor end face 112 a as extending from the top dead center side region V1 to the bottom dead center side region V2 of the rotor end face 112 a. Specifically, the end face 116 a 1 is formed such that the end face 116 a 1 is parallel to the swash plate end face 111 b of the swash plate 111 on the rotor side when the swash plate 111 inclines at the maximum inclination angle, as illustrated in FIGS. 6-9.

Furthermore, the first contacted member 118 corresponding to the transmitting member 116 is constituted by a pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a formed to be erect on the swash plate 111 between the pair of first plate members 116 a, 116 a. The second plate members 118 a, 118 a are formed to be erect in parallel to each other on the swash palate end face 111 b, and to face each other on both sides across the drive shaft 110. Furthermore, the second plate members 118 a, 118 a are positioned in both the regions V1, V2 of the rotor end face 112 a. Each outer wall face (i.e., each of wall faces opposite to the inner wall faces facing each other) 118 a 1 of second plate members 118 a, 118 a contacts the corresponding opposed wall face 116 a 2 of the first plate member 116 a facing the outer wall face. Furthermore, the end face 118 a 2 of each second plate member 118 a on the rotor side is formed such that the end face 118 a 2 is in parallel to the rotor end face 112 a of the rotor 112 on the swash plate side when the swash plate 111 inclines at the maximum inclination angle, as illustrated in FIGS. 6-9.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, by configuring the outer wall faces 118 a 1 of the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a, served as the first contacted member 118 and formed to be erect on the swash plate 111 between the pair of first plate members 116 a, 116 a, to contact the corresponding opposed wall faces 116 a 2 of the pair of first plate members 116 a, 116 a, served as the transmitting member 116 and formed to be erect on the rotor end face 112 a and to face each other on both sides across the drive shaft 110, the rotational motion of the rotor 112 is transmitted to the swash plate 111 and the swash plate 111 is supported. Thus, the transmitting member 116 has a torque transmitting function of transmitting rotational torque of the swash plate 111 to the rotor 112, and a supporting function of supporting the swash plate 111 while preventing the swash plate 111 from being shaken (rattled) across the line extending between the top dead center side end portion and the bottom dead center side end portion of the swash plate 111.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, the guide member 117 is a member that protrudes on the rotor end face 112 a at a predetermined portion in the top dead center side region V1. In the present embodiment, the guide member 117 is constituted by a first protruding portion 117 a that is formed to protrude on the rotor end face 112 a at the outer peripheral portion in the top dead center side region V1. Specifically, the first protruding portion 117 a extends in the radial direction of the rotor 112 at the intermediate portion of the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a, in the outer peripheral portion, for example. Furthermore, an end face 117 a 1 of the first protruding portion 117 a on the swash plate side is obliquely formed such that the end face 117 a 1 is located closer to the rotor end face 112 a as extending outward in the radial direction.

Furthermore, the second contacted member 119 corresponding to the guide member 117 is constituted by a rod-shaped second protruding portion 119 a that protrudes on the swash plate end face 111 b of the swash plate 111 at a portion corresponding to the first protruding portion 117 a. The length of the second protruding portion 119 a from the base end portion to the tip end portion 119 a 1 (protrusion length) is set to be longer than the overall height of the second plate member 118 a from the base end portion thereof. Furthermore, the tip end portion 119 a 1 of the second protruding portion 119 a is formed to have a gently curved surface, for example, and contacts the obliquely formed end face 117 a 1 of the first protruding portion 117 a. Thus, a portion corresponding to the second protruding portion 119 a in the outer periphery of the swash plate 111 is a portion that is always closest to the cylinder bore 101 a in any inclining state. Thus, the top dead center position of the piston 126 (height position), that is, the position at which the compression stroke ends, is defined by the second protruding portion 119 a of the swash plate 111.

Furthermore, when the inclination angle decreases from a state at the maximum inclination angle as illustrated in FIG. 1, the tip end portion 119 a 1 of the second protruding portion 119 a slides on the end face 117 a 1 of the first protruding portion 117 a toward the center in the radial direction of the rotor 112 while moving upward. During this inclining motion, there is substantially no change in position of the portion (top dead center side end portion) corresponding to the second protruding portion 119 a in the outer periphery of the swash plate 111 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 110, and the central portion of the swash plate 111 (i.e., portion in the through hole 111 a) is caused to move upward in a direction approaching the cylinder bore 101 a by the end face 117 a 1 of the first protruding portion 117 a. This makes the top dead center position of the piston 126 maintained to be substantially constant. Then, when the inclination angle increases from a state at the minimum inclination angle, the tip end portion 119 a 1 slides on the end face 117 a 1 outward in the radial direction of the rotor 112 while moving down. During this inclining motion, there is substantially no change in position of the portion corresponding to the second protruding portion 119 a in the outer periphery of the swash plate 111 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 110, in a similar manner as that during decreasing in inclination angle, and the central portion of the swash plate 111 moves in a direction departing from the cylinder bore 101 a. Also in this case, this makes the top dead center position of the piston 126 maintained to be substantially constant.

In this way, according to the present embodiment, by configuring the second protruding portion 119 a, served as the second contacted member 119 and formed to protrude on the swash plate end face 111 b at a portion corresponding to the first protruding portion 117 a, to contact the first protruding portion 117 a, served as the guide member 117 and formed to protrude on the rotor end face 112 a at the outer peripheral portion in the top dead center side region V1, the inclining motion of the swash plate 111 is guided such that the top dead center position of the piston 126 is maintained to be substantially constant despite the inclination angle of the swash plate 111 being changed. Thus, the guide member 117 has a guiding function of guiding (restricting) the inclining motion of the swash plate 111.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the swash plate 111 is provided with a balance weight 111 c for preventing imbalance as a rotating body caused by the second protruding portion 119 a. The balance weight 111 c is arranged on the swash plate end face 111 b in the bottom dead center side region V2 (region on the opposite side of the second protruding portion 111 d) and formed integrally with the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a so as to connect one end faces of the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a departing in the width direction. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a and the balance weight 111 c are integrally formed in a U-shape, for example, as a whole. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, the drive shaft 110 is inserted through the through hole 111 a via the inside of this U-shaped member (118 a, 118 a, 111 c).

In the variable displacement compressor 100 according to the present embodiment, the transmitting member 116 that transmits the rotational motion of the rotor 112 to the swash plate 111 and supports the swash plate, and the guide member 117 that guides the inclining motion of the swash plate 111 such that the top dead center position of the piston 126 is maintained to be substantially constant, are separately formed at different portions on the rotor end face 112 a of the rotor 112 on the swash plate side. In addition, the first contacted member 118 that is contacted with the transmitting member 116, and the second contacted member 119 that is contacted with the guide member 117, are separately formed at different portions on the swash plate end face 111 b of the swash plate 111 on the rotor side. This allows the transmitting member 116 (first plate member 116 a) to be formed to be larger than conventionally without being limited by the guide member 117. Thus, by forming the first contacted member 118 (second plate member 118 a) that is contacted with the transmitting member 116, to be larger to match the transmitting member 116, it is possible to easily increase a contact area of the transmitting member 116 and the first contacted member 118, resulting in stable transmission of the rotational motion of the rotor 112 to the swash plate 111 and stable supporting of the swash plate 111. Furthermore, by increasing the contact area, it is possible to reduce a load per unit area applied to the contact surface of the transmitting member 116 and the first contacted member 118, and accordingly, it is possible to improve durability. Furthermore, since the transmitting member 116 extends on the rotor 112 from the top dead center side region V1 to the bottom dead center side region V2 of the piston 126, and the first contacted member 118 extends on the swash plate 111 from the top dead center side region V1 to the bottom dead center side region V2 of the piston 126, the transmitting member 116 and the first contacted member 118 are positioned in both regions V1, V2 of the rotor 112 or the swash plate 111, that is, the top dead center side region and the bottom dead center side region dividing the rotor 112 and the swash plate 111 into two, and thus, it is also possible to prevent occurrence of imbalance of the rotor 112 and the swash plate 111 as the rotating body.

In this way, it is possible to provide the variable displacement compressor 100 capable of stably transmitting the rotational motion of the rotor 112 to the swash plate 111 and stably supporting the swash plate 111.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, by configuring the outer wall faces 118 a 1 of the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a, served as the first contacted member 118 and formed to be erect on the swash plate 111 between the pair of first plate members 116 a, 116 a, to contact the corresponding opposed wall faces 116 a 2 of the pair of first plate members 116 a, 116 a, served as the transmitting member 116 and formed to be erect on the rotor end face 112 a and to face each other on both sides across the drive shaft 110, the rotational motion of the rotor 112 is transmitted to the swash plate 111 and the swash plate 111 is supported. That is, the swash plate 111 is supported in a manner such that the second plate members 118 a, served as the first contacted member 118 and formed on the swash plate 111 on both sides across the drive shaft 110, are clamped from the outside thereof with the pair of first plate members 116 a, 116 a, served as the transmitting member 116, so as to transmit the rotational motion of the rotor 112. This allows reliable support of the swash plate 111 while transmitting the rotational motion. Furthermore, since it is possible to transmit the rotational motion to the swash plate 111 via two contact surfaces (outer wall faces 118 a 1) located on both sides across the drive shaft 110, transmission of the rotational motion can further be stabilized.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, by configuring the second protruding portion 119 a, served as the second contacted member 119 and formed to protrude on the swash plate end face 111 b at the portion corresponding to the first protruding portion 117 a, to contact the first protruding portion 117 a, served as the guide member 117 and formed to protrude on the rotor end face 112 a at the outer peripheral portion in the top dead center side region V1, the inclining motion of the swash plate 111 is guided. In this way, it is possible to easily guide the inclining motion of the swash plate 111 such that the top dead center position of the piston 126 is maintained to be substantially constant.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the swash plate 111 is configured to include the balance weight 111 c arranged on the swash plate end face 111 b in the bottom dead center side region V2 and formed integrally with the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a so as to connect the one end faces of the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a departing in the width direction. In this way, it is possible to reliably reduce occurrence of imbalance of the rotor 112 as a rotating body. In addition, by connecting the one end faces of the second plate members 118 a, 118 a by the balance weight 111 c, it is possible to improve rigidity of the portion to which a force is applied, and thus, it is possible to stably transmit the rotational motion and to stably support the swash plate 111.

Although, in the present embodiment, the balance weight 111 c is formed integrally with the pair of second plate members 118 a, 118 a, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the balance weight 111 c may be formed separately.

Furthermore, although, in the present embodiment, the pair of first plate members 116 a, 116 a, the first protruding portion 117 a, the pair of second plate members 118 a, and the second protruding portion 119 a are described as examples of the transmitting member 116, the guide member 117, the first contacted member 118 and the second contacted member 119, respectively, the transmitting member 116, the guide member 117, the first contacted member 118 and the second contacted member 119 may be appropriately configured.

Furthermore, although, in the above embodiment, the swash plate 111 is configured to be slidably supported directly by the drive shaft 110 via the through hole 111 a formed at the central portion of the swash plate 111, the swash plate 111 may be supported via a swash plate support (sleeve) slidably fitted on the drive shaft 110.

The contents of the invention have been described in detail above with reference to the preferred embodiments, but it is apparent that one skilled in the art can make various types of modifications based on the basic technical concept and teachings of the invention.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

-   100 Variable displacement compressor -   101 Cylinder block -   101 a Cylinder bore -   102 Front housing -   104 Cylinder head -   110 Drive shaft -   111 Swash plate -   111 b Swash plate end face -   111 c Balance weight -   112 Rotor -   112 a Rotor end face -   116 Transmitting member -   116 a, 116 a Pair of first plate members -   116 a 2 Opposed wall face -   117 Guide member -   117 a First protruding portion -   118 First contacted member -   118 a, 118 a Pair of second plate members -   118 a 1 Outer wall face -   119 Second contacted member -   119 a Second protruding portion -   126 Piston -   O Axis of drive shaft -   V1 Top dead center side region -   V2 Bottom dead center side region 

1. A variable displacement compressor comprising: a housing in which a cylinder bore is formed; a drive shaft rotatably supported inside the housing; a rotor secured to the drive shaft; a swash plate facing the rotor and attached to the drive shaft in a manner capable of inclining with respect to the axis of the drive shaft; and a piston disposed in the cylinder bore and reciprocating due to rotational motion of the swash plate, in which an inclination angle of the swash plate is changed to change a stroke amount of the piston so that a discharge displacement of refrigerant discharged from the cylinder bore is made variable, wherein, on a rotor end face of the rotor on a swash plate side, a transmitting member that transmits rotational motion of the rotor to the swash plate and supports the swash plate, and a guide member that guides inclining motion of the swash plate such that a top dead center position of the piston is maintained to be substantially constant, are separately formed at different portions, wherein, on a swash plate end face of the swash plate on a rotor side, a first contacted member that is contacted with the transmitting member, and a second contacted member that is contacted with the guide member, are separately formed at different portions, wherein the transmitting member extends on the rotor from a top dead center side region to a bottom dead center side region of the piston, and the first contacted member extends on the swash plate from the top dead center side region to the bottom dead center side region of the piston.
 2. The variable displacement compressor according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting rotational motion of the rotor to the swash plate and supporting the swash plate are caused by configuring outer wall faces of a pair of second plate members to contact corresponding opposed wall faces of a pair of first plate members, wherein the pair of second plate members is served as the first contacted member and is formed to be erect on the swash plate between the pair of first plate members, and the pair of first plate members is served as the transmitting member and is formed to be erect on the rotor end face and to face each other on both sides across the drive shaft, wherein the guiding inclining motion of the swash plate is caused by configuring a second protruding portion to contact a first protruding portion, wherein the second protruding portion is served as the second contacted member and is formed to protrude on the swash plate end face at a portion corresponding to the first protruding portion, and the first protruding portion is served as the guide member and is formed to protrude at an outer peripheral portion in the top dead center side region of the rotor end face.
 3. The variable displacement compressor according to claim 2, wherein the swash plate includes a balance weight arranged on the swash plate end face in the bottom dead center side region and formed integrally with the pair of second plate members so as to connect one end faces of the pair of second plate members departing in the width direction. 